25 years ago: Trafficway planners weigh latest EPA regulations

County officials were taking another look at the south Lawrence trafficway to see whether the proposed road would satisfy a new Environmental Protection Agency policy designed to keep the nation from losing any more wetlands. Mike Amyx, Douglas County Commission chairman, said preliminary work on the proposed 14.3-mile road had satisfied current EPA standards related to the nearby Baker Wetlands, but county officials were seeking more information from the EPA about the new policy. EPA officials said the new standards required that any wetlands destroyed for development would have to be replaced in quantity and quality within the same watershed or ecological area. "It boils down to whether it comes under the new rules or the old rules," Amyx said.